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Sorry, dear readers, for the dearth in postings: Between work (which I’m grateful to have in this economy), Summer (which I’ve learned was the coldest ever recorded in the USA), and the Red Sox (which has driven me to despair), I’ve had little time to document my Unsolicited Side Effects.

After reading about how “personal” digital photos of about 100 actresses (and, one actor) were hacked into and posted online I wondered how many of them have actually been paid to act in a state of partial or total undress?

Is it true that Warren Buffett, a wildly successful businessman and devoted Democrat contributor, invested $3 BILLION dollars in Burger King’s $12 billion purchase of Canada-based Tim Horton’s because he could make his investment back just in the tax savings alone when Burger King changes their headquarters from the United States (39.1% corporate tax rate) to Canada (26.1% corporate tax rate)? (BTW: Probably not… but, the yield on Buffett’s purchase of preferred stock might be up to 9% – a heck of a lot better than any investment you might own)

I read that an artist from Los Angeles CA created a sculpture from illegal guns obtained by New Jersey police during a “gun buy back” program. Sure, the sculpture is nice enough, but I’m wondering how may of those criminals used the money to upgrade to better – and, most likely illegal – guns.

If you’re becoming frustrated, annoyed, or impatient when playing that classic PC game “Minesweeper“, why not try it my way: Instead of avoiding the mines, try to see how many boards in a row you can lose by selecting a mine on the very first click

Yes, Red Sox fans, it’s truly bad when the most expensive average ticket in Major League Baseball is home to a Championship team that couldn’t hit the ground if they fell, catch a cold, or throw a tantrum.

Sure, there’s been worse years, but, let’s face it: From 1924 to about 1998 Sox fans weren’t expecting much other than entertainment anyway

There’s always “next year” – when I hope the Sox announce a rebate on ticket prices, LOL!Thanks for reading!

With the recent influx of illegal aliens from South America currently pouring across our southern border with Mexico the Obama Administration has requested $4,200,000,000 of taxpayer money to address the needs of 55 to 67 thousand unaccompanied childrenmothers with childrenteenage childrenMS-13 Gang Members people who’ve arrived during the 1st six months of 2014 – and, are still arriving.

Now, $4.2 Billion dollars may not sound like much for a country with a $17 trillion dollar deficit, or a military fighter jet costing $400 Billion dollars which has yet to reach operational status, but it’s still a hefty chunk of taxpayer change. So, rather than thinking big and pondering what could have been done with $400 Billion other than building fighter jets, let’s think small and consider what $4.2 Billion could buy for Americans in need:

What does $4,200,000,000 dollars buy?

50

Percent of America’s homeless having a safe & secure place to stay every day for a year (according to the “Housing First” Program, at $8.4 Billion dollars per year)

1,400,000

College-age women on birth control for every month of their entire three years at law school, or, all women enrolling in all law schools in the USA for the next 21 years (at $3,000 for three years, according to Sandra Fluke’s Congressional testimony, and 65,387 women in law schools, according to the American Bar Association)

71,874

Full-time minimum wage workers salaries increased to $15/hr for the next 5 years ($7.25/hr, 29 hrs/wk, 52 wks/yr, for 5 years, or $58,435 per person gross income)

64,615

Homes for “Habitat for Humanity” (at $65K/home National average price)

Nutritious, low or no cost lunches for America’s disadvantaged and underprivileged grade school children (based on FY2012 numbers, available from this USDA report)

70

Small market Triple-A baseball stadiums(based on $60M per park. That’s enough new stadiums to provide Major League Baseball’s 30 Triple-A teams and 31 Double-A teams a new stadium with plenty of money left over!)

3,092

Large-scale (1000kW), energy-efficient wind turbines across the United States (or enough capacity to replace three 100% Green energy nuclear power plants, for you “Green Environmentalists”)

1,900,000

Unionized teachers getting a 5% bonus this year (at an average annual income of $44,000 per teacher… unfortunately, that’s only 50% of the Union Teachers in the USA)

1,268,115

Uninsured people receiving an ObamaCare health insurance subsidy every month for the next year (based on average yearly subsidy of $3,212 per person)

Now I’m all in favor of helping disadvantaged people who honestly and truly want to improve their lives, regardless of how they arrived at their current circumstance. However, in a time where America’s economy is in slow decline, and her preeminence and influence in world affairs is eroding – whether by accident or intent – it appears a bit disingenuous to me that some in America champion accepting even more disadvantaged people when America can’t (or won’t) even take care of her own… and worse, that some are exploiting it in the name of political gain.

It isn’t a question of humanity, morality, charity, or correctness, which the majority of people around the world practice. It isn’t about isolationism, jiingoism, Patriotism, Nationalism, or any of those other “-isms”. It’s about preserving the World’s best example of individual freedom, Representative Government, and economic and social prosperity. Because by ignoring our laws and failing to defend our borders (we’ve got an immigration policy, right?) and the possibility that illegal aliens may be granted amnesty by Executive fiat rather than through the will of the voters, we risk turning the United States into what it was just after the Declaration of Independence was signed: A concept of Democracy rather than a working, living example.

Want to know what else $4.2 Billion dollars can buy?

280,000

Men, women, and children currently waiting in line to enter this country legally (assuming an average processing cost of $15,000 per person to move through the legal immigration system, including legal fees…and, a wait in line for up to nine years or more)

Remote-controlled drones flying 24 hours a day for an entire year to patrol the borders without putting United States citizens in harm’s way (based on a MQ-9 Reaper drone and $3,000 per flight hour to fly)

5,714

New border agents to help enforce America’s borders for the next five years (based on $70,000 annual salary and a 2.1x burden ratio)

The condo complex my fried lives in recently posted a notice which read in part “You must keep your pet at least 30 feet away from the building before urinating or defecating.” As my friend doesn’t own any pets they’re going to have a big problem in a couple of days. All joking aside, the bigger problem is that 30 feet from any building on the property is either another building, a paved parking area, or a small common park where pets aren’t allowed to “do their business” anyway. Given the property owner’s use of improper grammar I suspect it’s a problem they’ve yet to discover.

Mexico and Guatemala recently signed an agreement that provides anyone from Guatemala or Belize entering Mexico illegally a “Regional Visitor Card“ which is good for 72 hours, after which Mexico will arrest and deport them back to their country of origin. I think it’s a great idea which the United States should immediately adopt: It sure would be a whole lot cheaper than the $4.2 Billion our President is asking for to take care of the parents of the Democrat Party’s future voters those unfortunate children of irresponsible parents who want to be sponsored for entry once their children become legal US Citizens(gosh, that’s too much cynicism even for me – but, I digress…) By the way, if you’re an US Citizen and want a 72 hour pass into Mexico you’ll need to provide at least eight documents and forms, along with some money, and then you still won’t be able to travel more than 13.5 miles into Mexico.

Did you know that the chances of you winning money from a lottery scratch ticket (roughly 1 in 4, or 25%, according to my local Lottery Agent) is about 3 times greater than actually getting a free airline flight using your frequent flyer miles (approximately 9%, according the Travel Detective)?

Am I the only one who finds it obvious that states having less restrictive gun possession regulations also have lower murder rates? (apparently not… my gun-owning acquaintances also find it obvious)

“…since 2000 all of the net gain in the number of working-age (16 to 65) people holding a job has gone to immigrants (legal and illegal).”

In actual numbers, from 2000-2014 the CIS estimates the number of people holding a job increased 5.7 million for illegal aliens and legal immigrants, while the number decreased by 132,000 for non-immigrant – or “native” – Americans.

So, if you’re a legal immigrant, then “Congratulations!“. But, if you’re a “native” American, you might want to check out the entire report for all the rest of the disturbingly bad news.

I can’t figure out if I’m the only person who understands or the only one who doesn’t – and these two recent conversations certainly aren’t helping me resolve my internal dilemma:

At my local Dollar Tree: Two people stocking shelves, a man and woman:

Man: “I gotta get me another car.”Woman: “Another car? Didn’t you just get one?”Man: “Yeah, but too many people know I drive it. Have you been to [the city]? Four people shot in the last couple weeks, it’s bad cops, man!”

At my local bank:Between me, the Teller, and the Manager:

Teller: “Have you tried our online banking and checking services?”Me: “No, but speaking of that did you know Santander Bank will give me $20 a month if I use online checking and make three transactions per month with no minimum balance?”Bank Manager(listening nearby): “Yes, but you still have to pay taxes on that money, it’s considered interest income.”Me: “Of course, but taxes wouldn’t take 100% of that $240 per year. I’d rather have [your bank] give me more interest than see your ads during sporting events.”Bank Manager: “…and, besides, we have better customer service.”Me: “Customer service? If I use online banking and your ATMs, then you don’t need this teller, and I prefer talking to a teller than a automated help line, faceless website, or customer call center based hundreds of miles from here. And, if you get rid of tellers, you should give me more interest on my bank accounts.”Teller & Bank Manager: (Speechless)